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Giants’ Tuck To David Wilson: Nix The Backflip

NEW YORK, NY - DECEMBER 13: Justin Tuck of the New York Giants attends the game between the New York Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers at Madison Square Garden on December 13, 2012 in New York City. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. The Knicks defeated the Lakers 116-107. (credit: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

Turns out, the 5-foot-9 Wilson has been practicing since he was young, and there’s even a YouTube video of him performing 21 consecutive backflips during his college days at Virginia Tech.

“Now that it’s on tape, we’re going to expect that from him every game,” defensive end Justin Tuck said after Wilson set a club record with 327 all-purpose yards, including a 97-yard kickoff return for a score.

But Tuck wasn’t talking about the backflip celebrations. He wants Wilson to put the kibosh on that for good.

“I told him several times never to do that again,” Tuck said Wednesday. “We’re going to have another talk about not doing it.

“Everyone knows how athletic he is but the last thing we need is him having some tweak injury by showing off to the crowd. Let’s just keep him upright and running and leave the backflips for YouTube. They’re already on YouTube. If people want to see them, they can go to YouTube and see them.”

Wilson insisted that the organization hasn’t asked him to stop: “(GM Jerry) Reese just told me if I get hurt, then he’ll be in my grill.”

Backflip celebrations are not new for Wilson, it just took him awhile to get his game going with the Giants. An early season fumble put him on the bench, and he’s just made his way back into the lineup.

Some teammates call him the best athlete on the team. Salsa-dancing Victor Cruz is among them.

“If you blink once or twice, you might miss him,” Cruz said, presumably referring to his speed, not his backflips.

Cruz admitted he’s wary of Wilson’s athletic celebration.

“It scares me every time he does it because you never know what can happen,” said Cruz. “You don’t want to see him get hurt. But the backflip is definitely impressive … The salsa and the backflip are two (different) entities.”

Quarterback Eli Manning said it was “fine by me,” as long as Wilson is scoring touchdowns.

“I’ve been doing ’em since I was 3 years old,” said Wilson. “Never missed one. It’s easy, it’s almost like running, for me to jump and turn backwards. I’ve been doing it for a while so I think people can relax a little.”

Should Wilson quit with the backflips? Make your case in the comments…

(TM and Copyright 2012 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2011 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)